Role of Dilution Rate and Nutrient Availability in the Formation of Microbial Biofilms

We revisited the mathematical model of the chemostat and examined consequences of considerably decreasing the concentration of limiting nutrient in the inflow for the growth of both the planktonic and biofilm cells in the chemostat tank (fermenter). The model predicts a substantially lower steady-state biomass of planktonic cells in response to decreasing inflowing nutrient concentration. Contrarily, the steady-state concentration of nutrient inside the fermenter is expected to remain the same, as long as the inflowing concentration does not fall below its value. This allows the biofilm cells to grow at a rate regulated only by the exchange rate of the medium (dilution rate). We maintained a strain of Enterococcus faecalis in a chemostat of our own design with limiting nutrient in the inflow set near saturation constant at three dilution rates (0.09, 0.28, and 0.81 h-1). The highest dilution rate was near the critical rate calculated by the model. The one-day total biofilm buildup was 21× larger and its estimated growth rate 2.4× higher at highest dilution rate than at the lowest one. This increased biofilm formation with increased dilution rates is in agreement with previously published data on pure and mixed continuous flow cultures

Circular dichroism and bilayer splitting in the normal state of underdoped (Pb,Bi)2_2Sr2_2(Cax_xY1−x_{1-x})Cu2_2O8+δ_{8+\delta} and overdoped (Pb,Bi)2_2Sr2_2CaCu2_2O8+δ_{8+\delta}

We report an ARPES investigation of the circular dichroism in the first Brillouin zone (BZ) of under- and overdoped Pb-Bi2212 samples. We show that the dichroism has opposite signs for bonding and antibonding components of the bilayer-split CuO-band and is antisymmetric with respect to reflections in both mirror planes parallel to the c-axis. Using this property of the energy and momentum intensity distributions we prove the existence of the bilayer splitting in the normal state of the underdoped compound and compare its value with the splitting in overdoped sample. In agreement with previous studies the magnitude of the interlayer coupling does not depend significantly on doping. We also discuss possible origins of the observed dichroism.Comment: 4 RevTex pages, 4 EPS figure

Sustainable Urban Transformation and the Green Urban Economy

This chapter explores the connections between the concepts of sustainable urban transformation and the green urban economy, proposes a framework for understanding how these concepts “fit” together, and makes some practical suggestions for local governments (and national and international policy)

Proof for trivalent Sc ions in Sc2@C84 from high-energy spectroscopy

The electronic structure and the valency of the Sc ions in the endohedral dimetallofullerene Sc 2 @C 84 with D 2d symmetry are probed using high-energy spectroscopy. Comparison of the Sc 2p ! 3d x-ray-absorption spectrum with calculated ionic multiplet spectra shows that the Sc ions are trivalent. Detailed multiplet calcu-lations including covalency indicate that the effective valency of the Sc~III! ions can be described by a formal charge transfer to the fullerene cage of 2.660.1. This illustrates that a purely ionic picture is not valid for the electronic structure of Sc 2 @C 84 , and that a more complex picture including finite hybridization between the Sc and the fullerene cage has to be applied

Surprises in the doping dependence of the Fermi surface in Bi(Pb)-2212

A detailed and systematic ARPES investigation of the doping-dependence of the normal state Fermi surface (FS) of modulation-free (Pb,Bi)-2212 is presented. The FS does not change in topology away from hole-like at any stage. The data reveal, in addition, a number of surprises. Firstly the FS area does not follow the usual curve describing Tc vs x for the hole doped cuprates, but is down-shifted in doping by ca. 0.05 holes per Cu site, indicating either the break-down of Luttinger's theorem or the consequences of a significant bi-layer splitting of the FS. Secondly, the strong k-dependence of the FS width is shown to be doping independent. Finally, the relative strength of the shadow FS has a doping dependence mirroring that of Tc.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures (revtex

Superconducting gap in the presence of bilayer splitting in underdoped Bi(Pb)2212

The clearly resolved bilayer splitting in ARPES spectra of the underdoped Pb-Bi2212 compound rises the question of how the bonding and antibonding sheets of the Fermi surface are gapped in the superconducting state. Here we compare the superconducting gaps for both split components and show that within the experimental uncertainties they are identical. By tuning the relative intensity of the bonding and antibonding bands using different excitation conditions we determine the precise {\bf k}-dependence of the leading edge gap. Significant deviations from the simple cos($k_{x}$)-cos($k_{y}$) gap function for the studied doping level are detected.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures (revtex4

Angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy of Sr_2CuO_2Cl_2 - a revisit

We have investigated the lowest binding-energy electronic structure of the model cuprate Sr_2CuO_2Cl_2 using angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). Our data from about 80 cleavages of Sr_2CuO_2Cl_2 single crystals give a comprehensive, self-consistent picture of the nature of the first electron-removal state in this model undoped CuO_2-plane cuprate. Firstly, we show a strong dependence on the polarization of the excitation light which is understandable in the context of the matrix element governing the photoemission process, which gives a state with the symmetry of a Zhang-Rice singlet. Secondly, the strong, oscillatory dependence of the intensity of the Zhang-Rice singlet on the exciting photon-energy is shown to be consistent with interference effects connected with the periodicity of the crystal structure in the crystallographic c-direction. Thirdly, we measured the dispersion of the first electron-removal states along G->(pi,pi) and G->(pi,0), the latter being controversial in the literature, and have shown that the data are best fitted using an extended t-J-model, and extract the relevant model parameters. An analysis of the spectral weight of the first ionization states for different excitation energies within the approach used by Leung et al. (Phys. Rev. B56, 6320 (1997)) results in a strongly photon-energy dependent ratio between the coherent and incoherent spectral weight. The possible reasons for this observation and its physical implications are discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure

Suppression of magnetic excitations near the surface of the topological Kondo insulator SmB6

We present a detailed investigation of the temperature and depth dependence of the magnetic properties of 3D topological Kondo insulator SmB6 , in particular near its surface. We find that local magnetic field fluctuations detected in the bulk are suppressed rapidly with decreasing depths, disappearing almost completely at the surface. We attribute the magnetic excitations to spin excitons in bulk SmB6 , which produce local magnetic fields of about ~1.8 mT fluctuating on a time scale of ~60 ns. We find that the excitonic fluctuations are suppressed when approaching the surface on a length scale of 40-90 nm, accompanied by a small enhancement in static magnetic fields. We associate this length scale to the size of the excitonic state.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication as a Rapid Communication in Phys. Rev.

The normal state Fermi surface of pristine and Pb-doped Bi2212 from ARPES measurements and its photon energy independence

We address the question as to whether the topology of the normal state Fermi surface of Bi2212 - as seen in angle resolved photoemission - depends on the photon energy used to measure it. High resolution photoemission spectra and Fermi surface maps from pristine and Pb-doped Bi2212 are presented, recorded using both polarised and unpolarised radiation of differing energies. The data show clearly that no main band crosses the Fermi surface along the GMZ direction in reciprocal space, even for a photon energy of 32 eV, thus ruling out the existence of a G-centred, electron-like Fermi surface in this archetypal high Tc superconductor. The true topology of the normal state Fermi surface remains that of hole-like barrels centred at the X,Y points of the Brillouin zone.Comment: 4 pages (revtex), 4 figures (jpg